OSTBA Dual Zone Food Dehydrator, 20 Stainless Steel Trays, 1300W Dual Layer Food Dryer with Recipe, 180℉ Adjustable Temp, 48H Digital Timer, 10 Presets for Jerky, Meat, Fruit, Herbs

This Dual Zone Food Dehydrator seriously exceeded my expectations. I used it to make banana chips and they turned out INCREDIBLE - perfectly crisp, naturally sweet, and way better than store bought ones. The dual zone feature is super convenient and makes it easy to dehydrate different foods at the same time without issues.
It heats evenly, runs quietly, and the trays give plenty of space for large batches. I also really like how easy it is to use and clean. Everything dried consistently without burning or uneven spots. My kitchen smelled amazing while the bananas were dehydrating too ??
If you love making healthy snacks at home, this dehydrator is absolutely worth it. The banana chips alone made this purchase a huge win for me! ??

I really like this dehydrator for handling stuff from my garden. It has two separate zones so I can dry peppers in one side and fruits in the other at different temps without mixing flavors. The trays slide in easy and hold a good amount at once. I set the temperature and timer, and it runs steady for hours.

The stainless-steel parts clean up quick with just a wipe. They don't retain any smells either. I dried a bunch of apple slices last time and they came out nice and crisp without any hot spots. Herbs dry fast too and keep their color well.

It fits on my counter without taking over the whole space. The controls are straightforward with presets that save time when I am in a hurry. I will be using this all summer/fall and loving it! The quiet fan lets me run it in the kitchen without much noise.

This setup works great for preserving what I grow and makes snacks that last a long time. I am happy with how even the drying turns out every batch.

I wasn��t expecting to be this impressed, but this dehydrator flat-out delivers. The capacity alone is a game changer �� those 20 stainless trays give you an incredible amount of room to work with, and it feels like something built for people who actually plan to use it, not just try it once and forget about it
What really surprised me was the speed and performance. With 1300W of heating power, this thing moves air efficiently and dries evenly without constant babysitting. I��ve run multiple batches, and the consistency has been solid �� no weird hot spots or trays that lag behind. It just works, and it works well.
Another standout feature is the dual-zone setup. Being able to run different foods at different temperatures at the same time is huge. That��s one of those features that sounds fancy until you actually use it �� then you realize how much time it saves.

What really impressed me:

Massive capacity �� plenty of room for serious batch work
Fast drying performance �� doesn��t drag its feet
Dual-zone functionality �� two separate chambers with independent controls
Strong stainless trays �� durable and easy to clean
Quiet operation �� steady hum without being distracting
Digital controls �� straightforward and functional once you get used to them

Now, one thing worth mentioning �� this unit is big. Not a flaw, just reality. If you��re tight on counter space, you��ll want to plan where it lives before bringing it home. But honestly, that size is part of what makes it so capable.

Bottom line �� if you want something with serious capacity, strong performance, and reliable speed, this unit checks those boxes without hesitation. It feels like a tool meant to be used, not just admired.

Can handle at least 5 lbs of beef for jerky if double-spacing the trays, or at least 10lbs if keeping a tray in every row. I don't know if I needed to double-space the trays, but meat's expensive these days and I didn't care to risk it.

Drying was perfectly even without me bothering to flip the trays around or otherwise messing with them. Though the two halves operate independently and don't "share air", significant heat does conduct through the metal walls separating them. I only mention this because it may be worth considering if you have two differently-timed items in the halves; with one half off and the other on, the half which is off (and thus doesn't have its fan running) can get very warm; I'd guess ~100F with the on half being at 180F, though I didn't measure it. I don't imagine this ever causing me serious grief.

Device runs noticeably (or unnoticeably, rather) quiet; it's a nice low hum, quieter than when the outdoor air conditioner runs (listening indoors).

Quirks:
1) Was not initially intuitive for me to figure out which part of machine I had running, if any. It has "indicator lights" (they look like turn signals) which confusingly light up on one half of machine every 5 or so seconds if you have both halves running. I wound up relying on the colon in the "time remaining" display instead; it blinks every half-second or so on a running side of the machine.
2) The various beeps the machine makes are all (or mostly all) the same tone; to confirm what you pressed, then, you need to visually confirm it on the display.
3) Because this uses capacitive sensors instead of physical buttons, you do need to verify what the machine is doing when you think you've pressed something due to the general unreliability of capacitive touch as a human interface. Design would've benefited overall from a UX pass.

Back of the unit includes a "dummy outlet" to plug the electrical connector into when not in use, which makes keeping the cord out of the way while the device's stored pretty simple. Like many kitchen appliances, the power connector is quite short; worth considering when thinking about where you want to use this. The device's programs (that is, how hot and long it runs if you tap, for example, "lemon") all seem reasonable, and the lemon and pork (for beef) settings worked out well without modification.

Overall, I don't find myself having any gripes substantial enough to knock off a star, though I strongly dislike capacitive touch sensors. It's a good product.

I was excited to have the opportunity to order this OSTBA dual zone since I dehydrate a lot of food and plant varieties for preservation ... fruit, vegetables, herbs, milk, eggs, etc. I have been using an Excalibur (oldest and biggest capacity) and Cosori for several years and like them both, but only my Cosori is stainless steel with a solid hinged door. The OSTBA is built much like the Cosori I use most, with the exception of their advanced LED panel options.

I like to compare products that are used regularly since no "one" product will necessarily accomplish "everything" satisfactorily, so I will define what I do and don't like like about my new OSTBA dual chamber machine.

Of my 3 dehydrator brands, this OSTBA is the highest power draw at 1300W if you use both 10-tray chambers together, whereas my 6-tray Cosori and 9-tray Excalibur are both 600W. I've shown a photo of the 3 machine tray sizes to show the difference in total volume each machine would hold per tray, but haven't figured out the efficacy of the 2x power draw of the OSTBA per load volume compared to my other machines. Racks from left to right, OSTBA - Cosori - Excalibur.

The OSTBA trays are quite small by dimensions and will be more limiting, with about 1" of air head space between each rack (the same with my Excalibur). This reduces some air flow, which is better with the 1 3/8" spacing in my Cosori. Of the grid spacing of the 3 metal tray sizes, the OSTBA has the largest gaps, shown on the right in my photo with the Cosori rack. My Excalibur has the smallest holes, but I had to buy those generic SS racks separately since the original frames were just plastic.

The controls of my older 2 machines are far easier to operate. I personally don't like the recent switch to LED screens for so many kitchen appliances. They are not reliable, often have glitches, and in some cases like this OSTBA, I still haven't figured out how to access the preset options. The manual is deficient and not thorough enough. They also tell you to run the machine for 30 minutes after wiping down to burn off the initial factory smell ... in reality, you cannot set the time below 1 hour. I also dislike the way the chamber settings work. It took a long time to get the hang of setting temperature from one side panel for either chamber, and the time options on the opposite end. I would have figured each chamber had their "own" settings, which would make more sense. In reality, I don't need the presets. I like straight and simple time and temperature settings and don't need the rest. By contrast, I do like the light feature, but I'm not sure how valuable that really is for simple dehydrating.

As for machine presence on a counter, the OSTBA is wider but not as deep as my Excalibur, which saves some counter space on the pass-through countertop of our small kitchen. It is very stable and won't scoot around if accidentally bumped. My Cosori is still my favorite size, being neither too deep or wide, but it is limited by total volume of drying material. My Excalibur dries the most volume the quickest because of overall air flow from one large fan (but I hate the plastic front door that only hangs from the top edge).

So you see, depending on what you intend to dehydrate, your available surface area, wattage use, tray volume, and need for efficient air flow, this can create a lot of variables. What I DO really like about the OSTBA is that they include plastic trays with small holes for smaller foods, though I wish there had been enough for both chambers. I had to purchase mesh screens for my Cosori separately. I also appreciate OSTBA's full stainless steel components (purchasing the SS racks separately for my Excalibur was a very expensive upgrade).

I'm getting ready to dehydrate some turmeric and ginger root in the new OSTBA. I'm a bit concerned that this machine still has off odors after running for an hour two separate times. I didn't have this issue when my other two machines were brand new. However, the OSTBA runs the quietest, most likely because it vents from the back and not the sides. We'll see how it runs and performs in actual time, so long as I can consistently remember how to set it ... I've noticed it doesn't take much to accidentally lose your settings by pressing the wrong buttons, which is very annoying. I will always be wishing for the ease of settings my other two machines have, but such is life with variable products.

This OSTBA is an impressive build and aesthetic, perhaps good for a starter machine if you don't do a lot of dehydrating overall. The price point is a very good value if you don't mind getting used to the LED panel and have adequate space for it. In reality, though, my preference would be two Cosori machines that would function independently and could be placed in separate areas due to their smaller footprint and drying efficiency.

***** TAKE NOTE ****
I dried orange peels instead of the spice roots to test th...